How are you celebrating Festivus this year? If you’re like many Seinfeld fanatics, you may want to make a donation in their name to The Human Fund, and now you can actually print out a card to go along with it.
Every year, fans of the ’90s sitcom celebrate the made-up holiday on December 23 by airing their grievances and (for the more adventurous ones, at least) competing in the feats of strength. But there is a more direct way they can now celebrate — by giving a donation to George Costanza’s favorite charity, The Human Fund.
As Time noted, the holiday has taken hold among Seinfeld fans since it was first introduced in a 1997 episode. Many fans actually celebrate with traditions like the Festivus pole, including some real-life Festivus parties where participants dress up like their favorite Seinfeld characters.
The state of Pennsylvania offered an official Festivus greeting this year, which happens to be the 20th anniversary of the holiday.
The Human Fund was an important part of the Festivus episode. The fake charity was invented by George Costanza after he received a similar gift from friend Tim Whatley. Costanza gave all of his co-workers cards saying that a donation in their name to The Human Fund, which carried the slogan “Money For People.” The move so impressed George’s boss that he decided the company would make its annual charity donation to The Human Fund.
As Seinfeld writer Jeff Schafer later explained in Festivus! The Book , the inspiration for George’s fake donation actually came from real life.
“Every year we would get a Christmas card from Castle Rock,” Schafer said (via FestivusWeb ), “A donation was made in your name…”
Happy #Festivus , Pennsylvania! pic.twitter.com/khzbuNhyHz
— Pennsylvania (@PennsylvaniaGov) December 23, 2017
Waking up on Festivus morning like … pic.twitter.com/ZmeBnas8im
— MLB GIFS (@MLBGIFs) December 23, 2017
Schafer said they always wondered how much had been given or if the company was simply using it as a tax write-off. That turned into one of the show’s most memorable and iconic jokes.
Now, fans who want to celebrate Festivus by making a donation in the name of their friends and family can actually do so. A site called FestivusWeb (yes, an entire website devoted to celebrating the made-up holiday) has templates for greeting cards that people can download and print off to give their friends. Just make sure to get it to them after the airing of grievances.
